Image source, EPA
Image caption, Marc Marquez is a seven-time MotoGP champion
Defending MotoGP champion Marc Marquez will sit out the remainder of the French Grand Prix and the upcoming Catalan Grand Prix after fracturing his foot in a crash during Saturday’s sprint race.
The Ducati rider was thrown from his bike on the final lap of the sprint at Le Mans. The 33-year-old placed his right foot on the track just before the crash, but was flipped over the handlebars as his bike cartwheeled away.
Ducati confirmed in a statement that the Spaniard had sustained a “fifth metatarsal fracture in his right foot” and would fly to Madrid for surgery.
Marquez currently sits fifth in the standings and has not yet finished on the podium this season.
Meanwhile, Aprilia’s Jorge Martin won the sprint, reducing the gap to championship leader and teammate Marco Bezzecchi to six points. Bezzecchi finished third, with Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia in second.
“I love this track. I struggled a bit in qualifying, but I knew my potential was much higher,” Martin said. “I didn’t expect to be in first position at the second corner, but from that point, I just pushed like in the past, like what I am used to.”
